The Water Cycle

Learn About It & See It In Action

Below, you'll find some helpful information and links to experiments and resources about the water cycle for use in the classroom or at home. We hope these resources help you introduce the importance of clean, safe water to your students.

The Water Cycle

Experiments

Evaporation

All Dried UpA simple experiment showing how evaporation rates are different based on the amount of light a cup of water receives.

The Case of the
Disappearing Water (PDF)
This lesson includes a story about a missing person where one of the few clues is a cup of water that has partially evaporated. Students must conduct an experiment to see how long it takes for the given amount of water to evaporate in order to find out where the missing person is located. While meant for grades 4-6, the story could easily be rewritten for older grades as a "forensic science" case.

Condensation

Make a Cloud in a Bottle
Highlighting the concepts of air pressure and temperature in cloud making, this experiment uses a burnt match and some water to create a cloud inside of a plastic bottle. Due to the use of matches an adult is necessary.

Precipitation

The Rainmaker
This experiment uses a burner to heat water and a cookie tray of ice cubes above it to show how water vapor turns into precipitation like rain.

Collection (and Conservation)

Leaky Faucets MatterThis activity challenges students to be more aware of leaks in their house by showing just how much water can be lost through a single leaky faucet over time.

** PLEASE NOTE: All of the links in the "Resources" section of our website are provided for your convenience. The Water Project, Inc. does not endorse any of the linked content. The owners and creators of the content on these third-party sites are
solely responsible for that content. If you have concerns about any of these links, please note its URL and contact us here.